Dr. Deepak Kumar

Research / Professional Areas

• Contemporary technologies in soil and water conservation
• Contaminant modeling in the vadose zone
• Aquifer management using in-situ remediation technologies
• Remote sensing in natural resource management
• Applied soft computing techniques in soil and water resources

Academic Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Water Resource Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi
• M.Tech in Agricultural Engineering (Agricultural Systems and Management), IIT Kharagpur
• Graduation in Agricultural Engineering (with special emphasis on Soil and Water Conservation), RAU Pusa

Positions Held

• Assistant Professor, Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, GBPUAT Pantnagar (02/12/2015 – present)
• Research Associate, Department of Hydrology, IIT Roorkee (16/07/2014 – 30/11/2015)
• Guest Faculty, Agricultural Engineering, School of Technology, Assam University, Silchar (02/01/2014 – 30/06/2014)

Externally Funded Projects

• Optimal Design of in-situ Remediation System for Shallow Contaminated Aquifer — SERB, DST (06 Dec 2018 – 06 Dec 2021).
• Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN) programme “Industrial Wastewater Management towards Sustainable and Safe Environment” — GIAN, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
• “Development of Artificial Intelligence induced interactive tools for assessing the impact of Urban Underground Infrastructure on Groundwater Quality and Quantity” — National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), Ministry of Urban Affairs.

International Exposure

• Adjunct Fellow, School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University, Australia (funded by NAHEP).
• Academic visit to Griffith University, Gold Coast campus, Queensland, Australia.
• Academic visit to the Australian Rivers Institute, Nathan campus, Griffith University, Australia.
• Training programme at Chartres Institute and Beaulieu Lavacant Institute, Auch, France, through the DEFIAA Consortium (Developing French Indian Exchanges in Agrofood and Agronomy), funded by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty.

Students Guided

• M.Tech theses completed (as Advisor): 9 students
• B.Tech theses completed: 17 students
• M.Tech advisory committee: 6 students
• Ph.D.: 1 student (ongoing)

Publications

Total publications: 40+  |  Book chapters: 20  |  Bulletins / popular articles: 5  |  Google Scholar citations: ~800

1. Kumar, D., & Kumari, S. (2024). Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Standardized Groundwater Index (SGI): A Case Study of Bihar, India. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 100(6), 807-817.
2. Singh, S., Kumar, D., Vishwakarma, D. K., Kumar, R., & Kushwaha, N. L. (2024). Seasonal rainfall pattern using coupled neural network-wavelet technique of southern Uttarakhand, India. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 1-17.
3. Singh, S., Kumar, D., Kumar, A., & Kuriqi, A. (2023). Entropy-based assessment of climate dynamics with varying elevations for hilly areas of Uttarakhand, India. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 9(4), 130.
4. Kumari, S., Kumar, D., Kumar, M., Chaitanya, B. P. (2023). Modeling of standardized groundwater index of Bihar using machine learning techniques. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 130, 103395.
5. Garg, A., Yadav, B. K., Ranjan, S., Vatsa, A., Das, D. B., & Kumar, D. (2023). Impact of Nonaqueous Phase Liquid on Cr (VI) Removal by Nano Zerovalent Iron Particles: Effects of Contact Time, Pollution Load, and pH. Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste, 27(2), 04023001.
6. Deoli, V., Kumar, D., & Kuriqi, A. (2022). Detection of Water Spread Area Changes in Eutrophic Lake Using Landsat Data. Sensors, 22(18), 6827.
7. Kumar, D., Soni, A., & Kumar, M. (2022). Retrieval of Land Surface Temperature from Landsat-8 Thermal Infrared Sensor Data. Journal of Human, Earth, and Future, 3(2), 159-168.
8. Joshi, R., Prasad, H. J. S., Prasad, J., Mahar, P. S., Kumar, D., Kumar, P. (2022). Mapping of Groundwater Potential Zone in Complex Hydrological System of Suyal Basin in the Mid-Himalayan Region using Analytic Hierarchical Process. Pantnagar Journal of Research, 20(1), 166-172.
9. Kumar, M., Singh, P. K., & Kumar, D. (2022). Planning of Suitable Soil & Water Conservation Structures using Remote Sensing and GIS Approach: A Case Study of Madar Watershed. Indian Journal of Ecology, 49(4), 1397-1405.
10. Kumar, M., Elbeltagi, A., Pande, C. B., Ahmed, A. N., Chow, M. F., Pham, Q. B., & Kumar, D. (2022). Applications of Data-driven Models for Daily Discharge Estimation Based on Different Input Combinations. Water Resources Management, 1-21.
11. Singh, S., Kumar, D. (2021). Investigation of rainfall variability of the southern part of Uttarakhand using entropy theory. Indian Journal of Soil Conservation, 49(2), 83-88.
12. Deoli, V., Kumar, D., Kumar, M., Kuriqi, A., & Elbeltagi, A. (2021). Water spread mapping of multiple lakes using remote sensing and satellite data. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14(21), 1-15.
13. Kumar, M., Kumari, A., Kumar, D., Al-Ansari, N., Ali, R., Kumar, R., & Kuriqi, A. (2021). The Superiority of Data-Driven Techniques for Estimation of Daily Pan Evaporation. Atmosphere, 12(6), 701.
14. Singh, S., and Kumar, D. (2020). Entropy Analysis of Seasonal Groundwater Level Fluctuations for Delhi and Haridwar Regions of India Using GRACE Satellite Data. Journal of Water Engineering and Management, 1(3), 27-33.
15. Deoli, V., and Kumar, D. (2020). Analysis of Groundwater Fluctuation using GRACE Satellite Data. Indian Journal of Ecology, 47(2), 299-302.
16. Kumari, B., Gupta, P. K., Kumar, D. (2019). In-situ Observation and Nitrate-N Load Assessment in Madhubani District, Bihar, India. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 93(1), 5-126. DOI: 10.1007/s12594-019-1130-z.
17. Navale, M. M., Kashyap, P. S., Singh, S. K., Kushwaha, D. P., Kumar, D., and Kumar, P. (2018). Estimation of deterministic component of monthly rainfall time series: A case study for Pantnagar. MAUSAM, 69(3), 449-458.
18. Kumar, D., Adamowski, J., Suresh, R., Ozga-Zielinski, B. (2016). Estimating evapotranspiration using an extreme learning machine model: case study in north Bihar, India. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 142(9), 04016032.
19. Kumar, D., Ch, S., Mathur, S., Adamowski, J. (2015). Multi-objective optimization of in-situ bioremediation of groundwater using a hybrid metaheuristic technique based on differential evolution, genetic algorithms and simulated annealing. Journal of Water and Land Development, 27, 29-40.
20. Kumar, D., Kumar, A., Sarkar, S., Mohodi, D., Thakuria, P., Das, J. (2015). Optimal design of flow rate in drip irrigation system to enhance the tomato cultivation. International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Biotechnology, 8, 11-19.
21. Ch, S., Sohani, S. K., Kumar, D., Malik, A., Chahar, B. R., Nema, A. K., Panigrahi, B. K. (2014). A support vector machine-firefly algorithm based forecasting model to determine malaria transmission. Neurocomputing, 129, 279-288.
22. Kumar, D., Mathur, S., Panigrahi, B. K. (2013). Hybrid algorithm performance with varying population size for multi-objective optimisation of in-situ bioremediation of groundwater. International Journal of Bio-Inspired Computation, 5(3), 164-174.
23. Ch, S., Kumar, D., Prasad, R. K., Mathur, S. (2013). Optimal design of an in-situ bioremediation system using support vector machine and particle swarm optimization. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 151, 105-116.

1. Kumar, D., Kumar, V. P., Gupta, P. K., Surinaidu, L. (2025). Transport of Nitrate, Phosphate and Potassium in Vadose Zone with Varying Rainfall Scenarios for a Semi-arid Cotton Growing Region of South India. In A. Nanda et al. (eds.), Navigating the Nexus, Water Science and Technology Library 102, Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-76532-2_12
2. Saw, S., Singh, P. K., Patel, R., Deoli, V., & Kumar, D. (2023). A GIS-Based DRASTIC Approach for Aquifer Vulnerability Assessment: Study Conducted in the Municipal Corporation Region of Ranchi, Jharkhand. In Surface and Groundwater Resources Development and Management in Semi-arid Region (pp. 39-56). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
3. Deoli, V., Kumar, D., Shikha, D., Saw, S., Patel, R. (2023). Mapping and Trend Analysis in Water Spread Area of Upper and Lower Lakes of Bhopal, Using Remote Sensing Technique. In Surface and Groundwater Resources Development and Management in Semi-arid Region (pp. 177-189). Springer International Publishing.
4. Kumar, D., Dhami, B., Pathak, A., and Kumar, S. (2021). Assessment of Wasteland Resources of Uttarakhand. Soil & Water Conservation Bulletin, No. 6, pp. 24-29.
5. Kumar, D., Gupta, P. K., Rawat, A., & Bajaj, A. (2021). Monsoonal Rainfall Time Series (1901–2002) Analysis of Uttarakhand, India. In Fate and Transport of Subsurface Pollutants (pp. 145-164). Springer, Singapore.
6. Gupta, P. K., Ranjan, S., and Kumar, D. (2018). Groundwater Pollution by Emerging Industrial Pollutants and its Remediation Techniques. In Recent Advances in Environmental Management. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group.
7. Kumar, D., and Deoli, V. (2018). Remote Sensing Approach for Water Spread Mapping of a Reservoir: A Case Study of Tehri Dam Reservoir. Soil & Water Conservation Bulletin, No. 3, pp. 85-89.

Awards & Achievements

• GATE qualified in 2005 and 2006 with All India Ranks 61 and 48 respectively.
• Scientist of the Year Award, Agro Environmental Development Society (AEDS), 2020.
• Scientist of the Year Award, Agro Environmental Development Society (AEDS), 2024.
• NSS Programme Officer for the Agricultural Engineering Unit, GBPUAT.
• Warden, Silver Jubilee Hostel, GBPUAT Pantnagar (till 2022).
• Coordinator, IIRS online learning programme, GBPUAT Pantnagar.
• Committee member, DEFIAA Consortium, GBPUAT Pantnagar.
• Co-coordinator, Kisan Mela, GBPUAT.
• Developed 32 e-Modules for “Fluid Mechanics and Open Channel Hydraulics” (IDP-NAHEP, 2021).

Major Courses Taught

Invited / Keynote Lectures (selected)

• “Remediation technologies for contaminated water resources to achieve Sustainable Development Goals” — IWRS Student Chapter, Graphic Era University, Dehradun, 14 Nov 2024.
• “Application of Machine Learning in Agriculture” — SERB Accelerate Vigyan high-end workshop, IDED, GBPUAT, June 2024.
• “Remote Sensing / Artificial Intelligence (AI) Approach for Water Resources & Quality Management” — Department of Microbiology, CBSH, GBPUAT, Oct 2022.
• “Water Quality Assessment for Sustainable Water Resource Development” — RAWR webinar, Assam University, Silchar, 20 Nov 2021.
• “Permeable Reactive Barrier for in-situ remediation of shallow contaminated aquifer: An overview” — 8th International Groundwater Conference (IGWC-2019), IIT Roorkee.
• Keynote for TEQIP-III workshop “Water Conservation for Sustainable Development (WCSD-2018)” — Department of Soil & Water Conservation Engineering, GBPUAT, March 2018.

Reviewer for Journals

• Journal of Hydroinformatics (IWA Publishing)
• Environmental Technology (Taylor & Francis)
• Journal of Hydrology (Elsevier)
• Neurocomputing (Elsevier)
• Engineering Science and Technology (Elsevier)
• Applied Mathematical Modelling (Elsevier)
• Applied Soft Computing (Elsevier)
• Recent Patents on Biotechnology (Bentham Science)
• International Journal of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering
• Water (MDPI)

Extension (Community) Activities

• Training to farmers of Dehradun, Uttarakhand through the Krishi Mohotsav Rabi-2016 programme.
• Technological awareness among farmers of Sitarganj, Uttarakhand through “Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav”, an initiative of the Government of Uttarakhand.
• Kisan Mela Committee member since 2016 to date, demonstrating advances in agricultural technologies.
• Lectures on water conservation issues to farmers through training programmes at GBPUAT Pantnagar.
• Served as Sector Magistrate and Information Technology resource person in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections.
• Served as COVID centre in-charge for COVID patients of Uttarakhand during 2021-22.
• Resource person at the Agriculture Technology Information Centre (ATIC) for farmers’ water-management queries.